A/N: Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well. I haven't been in great shape lately but don't worry, I'm still writing away. I'm posting this now at 4:37AM because I couldn't sleep and I wanted it up for you to read in case I feel sick later from lack of sleep. I hope you enjoy!
***
Tessa
My decision to avoid Jake had to take a backseat because things took a swift downward spiral since that night at the hospital.
Despite her injuries from the attack, Charlotte didn't bow out of the wedding and yesterday, she and Brandon were officially married. The mad scramble to the altar already had everyone on high alert and just when things were about to slow down, Dad served us up one big scare.
After the party, I went home with Dad and Mattie to stay the night at the big house instead of returning to my apartment. I had no doubt Dad was happy to see Brandon happily married but he'd been pensive most of the night that I thought I'd keep him company the next day, and maybe make him and Mattie some chocolate chip pancakes. While Brandon, Anna and I still all lived in the city and often visited, I knew Dad missed having us all under the same roof. Brandon's wedding signified a new chapter in the family. To Dad, it meant that we were all growing up at a rate that probably left him a little wistful even if it did promise grandchildren in the future.
Mattie was already in bed when Dad talked me into warming up some cookies in the kitchen and having a late snack. I was just pouring him a glass of milk when I heard scrape of chair legs on the tiled floor and Dad's loud gasp. He had a hand clutched to his chest as he staggered off the chair.
The rush to the hospital with the ambulance and the frantic phone calls I made to everyone in the family were now mostly just a blur in my head. Dad had been diagnosed with angina two years ago and we knew he'd been in delicate health since then. But money and all it could purchase often gave the illusion of invincibility—something we should've all been careful of considering all of Dad's money and influence couldn't save Mom all those years ago.
We all knew it wouldn't save Dad from the inevitable but at least for now, after this bypass surgery with the best doctors in the country, we'd be able to buy some more time with him.
"You okay?" Jake said as he lowered himself next to me on the bench outside of Dad's operating room. "Are you nervous about the surgery?"
"You know Dad. Nothing ever takes him down," I said with a dismissive wave.
Well, that was a mild exaggeration.
Martin Maxfield had been brought to his knees a couple times in his life. When Mom died from an aneurysm five years ago, we thought he'd follow right behind her.
"He'll pull through," Jake said, bumping my arm with his. "Don't worry."
I glanced at him, noting the light scratch on his chin after jumping into the scuffle earlier, when Brandon had been furiously thrashing our cousin Francis in the hospital lobby.
Those two grew up pretty much together since Francis spent more time with us than his own family, and they've always been competitive. They spent the last couple years in different countries so I never really noticed just how hostile they've become to each other until today. There had been immediate tension when Francis showed up from London unannounced to attend Brandon's wedding and his malicious comments, both about Dad and Charlotte, were all the provocation required for things to escalate into an all-out confrontation.
"I'm fine, I promise." I handed him a clean spare of table napkin I'd gotten from the cafeteria a few minutes ago, when I went to get a cup of coffee. Dad was going into surgery just as the whole fiasco was unfolding and suddenly there'd been no one left but me to sit and wait it out.
When Jake just looked at the napkin blankly, I rolled my eyes and pressed it to the scratch where a little bit of blood had dried. He winced but he didn't move away, his hand laying over mine even though the pressure wasn't needed.
I wanted to pull my hand away but Jake had closed his eyes, the deep crease between his brows finally relaxing. I couldn't find it in me to abruptly take that small relief away.
"Where did everyone go?" I asked, trying to ignore the warmth of his hand.
He kept his eyes closed as he answered. "Anna is wrapping up her statement at the station to make sure neither Brandon nor Francis stay for too long there. Charlotte took Mattie downstairs to the cafeteria again to distract him with something to eat."
"And are you up here to distract yourself from a girl you couldn't have for yourself?" The words were out before I could stop them. I just couldn't be bigger than this, could I, momentarily forgetting my own petty insecurities while my father fought for his life.
Jake's eyes snapped open and he frowned at me, his hand finally lowering from mine that I was able to easily pull it back.
"I'm here because I'm worried about Martin," he said. "I love that old man like a father."
I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
I opened my eyes and studied his brooding expression. I didn't want to go down this road but I remembered his face during the party and as much as I hated the reason for it, I couldn't ignore it. "It's just... I was a little worried about you at the wedding. I know you have feelings for Charlotte. It couldn't have been easy for you."
Jake winced. "Charlotte's one hell of a girl. And I just adored her more since meeting her. But she's happy with your brother and I could never resent Brandon for that."
My heart squeezed at the affection in his voice. I couldn't make myself un-hear it but like most blows in life, I kept my footing and took it with dignity. "You don't have to stick around if it's difficult for you to be around her. Go. I'll be fine here."
"I'm not going anywhere, Tess," Jake said with a smile. "If I plan to remain Brandon's best friend, I'll have to get used to having him and Charlotte around."
"Do you just enjoy the torture?"
He chuckled this time. "No. I'm not a rock. There's something bittersweet about seeing them together."
"Why? Because you wish it was you?"
His gaze grew pensive. "In a way, yes. It's not exactly that I look at them and wish I was Brandon. More like I wish I had what they had. They look so damn happy and content."
My eyes widened. "What they have is called love, Jake. Do you remember? It's the thing you avoid like the plague with any woman."
"I know, I know." He rolled his eyes. "I shouldn't have said anything to you. If there's anyone who would gladly throw my past mistakes to my face, it would be you."
He didn't look like he was kidding.
Damn.
"Don't tell me you've gone all soft now," I said, slumping back in my seat. "You're probably just having trouble coping with Brandon suddenly going from happy bachelor to happy husband. You probably thought you'd be both old and gray and still having the time of the day with the ladies."
A small smile curved at the corner of his mouth. "For a while, I did. It's partly why it mystified me how Brandon could've given it all up. But one look at him and Charlotte and I totally understand why. So it made me think."
I squirmed inside a little. "I'm not sure you know what you're getting into."
But Jake paid me no mind. "I'm now wondering if I'm missing out on something better because I wouldn't go any farther. And I wouldn't know until I try."
My eyes widened. "So you're going to go out there and try to get into a serious relationship?"
"Well, I'm not going to put up a billboard ad," he said with a grin. "I'll just be more... open to the idea, I guess. What do you think?"
I didn't want to answer.
It was one thing to see Jake jump from one woman to another the last couple years. At least I knew that they didn't mean that much to him. It was completely selfish but true. And I could handle it. But to see Jake actually fall in love and spend his life with a woman, to be the man I'd dreamed him of becoming for me all those years ago but to someone else—it's going to hurt more than I'd care to admit.
But that's not what a good friend, a good sister, should tell him.
If I were either, I'd encourage him because in the end, it would probably make him happy.
But I wasn't stony enough for that lie, because that's what it would be—a lie.
"I think that you're curious enough to experiment but love isn't a science project, Jake," I said dismissively, looking away so I couldn't betray anything on my face. "And no one wants to be the test subject."
"Do you honestly think I hurt every woman I'm with?"
I had to look at him because there was hurt in his voice. He was frowning at me, his brows pulling in as he waited for an answer.
It was easy to say yes—he'd hurt me after all—but it wouldn't be true.
"No. I don't think you ever mean to," I said quietly. "But you can hurt someone not just with what you do but also with what you can't do. So never make promises you can't keep."
I would never know if Jake would remember the promise he carelessly made me when I was twelve but that didn't matter anymore.
"You're right. And I won't," he agreed. He even surprised me more when he reached for my hand and covered it with his much larger one. "But here's a promise I will keep no matter what—I'll be here for you, Tess. I'll be here for your entire family. So don't be afraid."
A sob rose to my throat but I quickly pushed it back. Blinking through a rush of tears, I turned my hand up until his fingers could fit in between mine, grateful for their strength. "Thanks, Jake."
"We really need to stop hanging out at hospitals like this," he murmured.
I couldn't help but laugh despite my tear-stung eyes. "I'm with you on that."
"It's good to see you smile, Tess," he said, his voice dropping an octave.
I peered up at him from beneath damp lashes and saw him smiling softly at me. "It's good to have you around to make me."
His grin just broadened before he patted his bicep. "Now, come on. Close your eyes and take a nap. It'll be hours before the surgery's over."
I should've said no because while Jake meant well, my heart wouldn't see it that way.
He only offered comfort and that was all I should really take.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his arm—strong and hard with muscle beneath the long sleeves of his shirt.
If only comfort didn't have consequences.
***
Jake
"Bettina Pope's on line two," Marjorie said as she walked into my office carrying a pretty sky blue pastry box in one hand and an ostentatious edible fruit arrangement in another. "And these truffles are from Kimberly M and the fruits are from Dr. Alicia Marshall."
She laid them out on my desk, planting her hands on her hips as she raised her brow at me in question. My assistant was a mother of four teenage boys and when she wanted answers, she usually got them—even from me.
"My office has been a revolving door of deliveries for you the past couple of weeks," she said. "I don't know what you're promising these women but I would like to get some actual work done."
"Pierce, let me call you back later, okay?" I told my VP of Finance before hanging up. I let my voicemail pick up Bettina's call.
I gave Marjorie my best puppy dog eyes even knowing she was quite immune to them. "I'm sorry. I had no idea it was going to get ridiculous. I went out on a few repeat dates—something I apparently have never done because a couple of them are already planning our new house and naming our children."
Marjorie cocked her head to the side. "You didn't happen to sign up for a season as the Bachelor, did you?"
I groaned. "No, no. I'm just... trying to meet women, that's all."
"I daresay you've met more than any man probably should," she said dryly. "If you're trying to narrow it down to the love of your life, dating five women at the same time isn't the way to go. They might kill each other before you can choose."
Marjorie had a good point. And she should know. She was nauseatingly happy being married to her husband of twenty-five years. I should've just asked her instead of arranging several dates with five different women I've met and liked before and spending the past month trying to decide which one was worth going exclusive with. They were all extremely attractive women, financially independent, and no younger than twenty-five because I needed someone emotionally mature who would want the same things I did at this point in our lives. Unfortunately, claws still came out and the women's competitive nature kicked into high gear. Almost every single day in the past couple weeks, I've been inundated with multiple calls, gifts, invitations, unannounced visits—anything to get my attention. I was beginning to wonder whether these women were still in it for me or just to win.
"What do you suggest I do, Marj?" I asked, sitting back on my chair and folding my arms behind my head. "I'm completely out of my element in this."
"You have to let it happen to you, Jake," she said with a sigh. "Don't change your whole life around and try to manufacture it. Doesn't work that way."
I wrinkled my nose. "I'd rather not be taken by surprise."
Marjorie smirked. "Ha! I've got news for you—it's not up to you. One day it'll happen and you'll know it."
I wasn't the biggest fan of that mentality because it had too many unknown variables. But Marjorie wasn't someone I could argue with and win.
"I'll take it under advisement. I'll reconsider my strategy," I told her before motioning to the deliveries. "For now, maybe we can put this out in the staff kitchen for everyone to enjoy. Come on, I'll help you."
Twenty minutes later, I got a text message from Charlotte telling me where she, Anna and Tessa were having lunch. I'd declined two lunch dates already and was going to order in so that no one could run into me lunching alone when I'd made excuses about having plans. I was sure no one could complain if I'd been obligated to lunch with the Maxfield ladies.
It started innocently enough.
I walked in on Anna prescribing herself a party.
I didn't think it was a bad idea. In fact, I volunteered to tag along. Not only was I avoiding getting lured into another date tonight, I also thought it would be a nice, fresh break to spend time with the girls and not worry about auditioning more women to become the one. I could relax, keep an eye on them, and just have some clean fun even if it was with a younger crowd.
Except that Tessa didn't think I could keep it clean.
She practically taunted me into that bet with all her sly insinuations and mentions of humping like I was some kind of caveman.
Did she honestly think I was just a walking erection, ready to stick it in any available hole?
Tonight, I was going to prove to her once and for all that not only did I have good taste, I had control of myself and that not all of my waking thoughts were about sex.
I would give anything to kiss that smug smile off her lips.
Did you just say kiss? What the hell, Jake?
That wasn't what I meant, of course. It was just the natural course of a man's thoughts when dealing with a woman who was driving him crazy with her relentless teasing.
And she was driving me crazy.
And before this night was through, I was going to prove her wrong.
Except that she blindsided me.
I was blind, yes, to everything and everyone else but her—the last woman I should be seeing in this hot, unholy light.
"You're so quiet I can't remember what you sound like anymore."
My head snapped up at the soft teasing in her voice and found her smiling. Charlotte and Anna were giggling as they climbed into the backseat of my car, oblivious to the two of us who'd been silently walking quite ways behind them.
I arrived at Anna's apartment to take them to the party, bearing flowers for each lady. Anna was stunning, as usual. Charlotte was spunky, like always. And then there was Tessa who pretty much knocked all the air out of me when she appeared at the top of the stairs in a white off-shoulder dress that silhouetted the sleek curves of her slender body. On her, something that could be scandalously tight looked elegant and absolutely breathtaking.
I didn't forget to speak, exactly.
I rambled on for a bit which was rare for me so I shut my mouth on our walk down the hallway to get to my car.
I just didn't know what to say to Tessa who went from being Brandon's baby sister to a woman I was suddenly wildly attracted to in the space of ten seconds.
Call me poleaxed but that's what I was.
"Have I told you yet how beautiful you are tonight?"
Her cheeks turned a darker pink.
She didn't expect that from me. She probably expected a smart-ass comment.
"You did with that line about how you thought tulips were beautiful until you saw me," she answered, still wearing her smile. "It was sweet but does it always work on women, Jake?"
I scowled. "I wouldn't know because I definitely don't go reciting poetic metaphors to them."
"Well, then. I feel very special." She laughed—and I never realized how sexy the lower register of her voice was when she laughed like this. It made me think of silk sheets and her glorious dark hair spilled all over them.
Holy hell.
Tessa tonight wasn't the Tessa I knew since she'd been a baby.
She wasn't the somber young girl who hated attention or the quiet sister who didn't smile enough.
Tonight, there was a reckless air about her, a confidence that made her gold-flecked eyes sparkle and the faint half-smile linger on her lips. While she'd always been lovely, she never seemed aware of her feminine power—not in the way a lot of other women I knew were.
But tonight, she was fairly crackling with it and I could feel every little current ride up my skin with her standing so close.
"You are special," I muttered under my breath as I opened the car door for her. "If you don't know that yet, I haven't been doing this right."
She peered up at me through the car door, looking puzzled. "What did you say?"
"Nothing," I said before I gently closed the door and walked over to my side.
Don't say anything your brain hasn't even comprehended yet.
Tessa had a thing about making promises. She'd said it quietly that time I sat with her outside of Martin's operating room but something in her voice told me she'd had a promise or two broken.
I wanted to promise her a lot of things right now—that I'd happily spend the next fifty years studying the subtle curve of her fuller bottom lip, or counting every lash that framed her dark, mesmerizing eyes, or listening to her low, husky murmurs of my name even if it was to reprimand me.
But making those promises to Tessa had repercussions because she wasn't fair game.
Setting aside the fact that she was Brandon's sister, she was important to me in her own right. She was a friend; she was family; she was a girl I would never want to hurt.
So I kept those promises to myself until I could fully wrap my brain around what they meant—for me and for her.
But I had other instincts under control.
"Stick close to me," I told her as soon as we arrived at the party. My hand rested on the small of her back and I wasn't sure if it was for her reassurance or my own. Either way, she didn't move away from it but she did glance over her shoulder at me in question.
"Why?" she asked after Charlotte and Anna moved forward to greet some people after Anna dramatically announced our arrival.
I glanced down at her face, so achingly lovely, and swallowed hard. "Because anyone with eyes in this party can see you. Some will want to do more than just appreciate you from a distance."
She raised a brow. "I've been to a few parties, Jake. I don't require a baby-sitter—"
"—I'm not your baby-sitter—"
"—or a bodyguard."
"—I'm not—okay, maybe that."
She grinned and patted me in the arm. "We're here to have fun—a subject I believe you're well-versed with. Go mingle. I'm going to do the same."
I crossed my arms. "We can mingle together."
She gave me a wry look. "Kinda hard to flirt with a guy if you're going to be standing there and staring him down."
"Why would you want to flirt with a guy?"
She looked at me as if I'd morphed into a bug—or a green-eyed monster. Probably the latter.
"Because I'm young and single and want to do something about it. What's the big deal?"
Yeah, Jake. What's the big deal?
I glanced around. "A party like this with people you hardly know isn't the best idea to meet someone who wants more than just a hook up."
"And your point is?"
I barely tamped down on my temper as it hit me that Tessa was looking for what a lot of people—male or female—her age were looking for here in this party. I was in the same bandwagon for far longer than most people until Brandon decided to get married and infect everyone with this contagious need to find the same thing he did.
I never thought of Tessa's intimate relationships before because that wasn't something you considered about your best friend's younger sister. And also because I couldn't remember a time that Tessa was ever involved with a boy. If she was, she definitely didn't bring him home to meet the family.
"Tessa—"
"Look, Jake. Stop it right there." She turned fully to me and met my gaze directly. There was an intensity to her eyes that me arrested in the spot. "You're not going to lecture me about dating casually—not when you've been out on dates with a different woman each night in the past month. That's a double standard. You can go and date whoever the hell you want and I'll do the same. Are we clear?"
I had a lot of things to say to that but nothing that would change her mind at this moment or keep me from getting booted out. And even if I had to endure it, I would rather sit at a distance and keep an eye on her than abandon her to this party where half the men were openly checking her out.
So I held my peace—for now.
"Fine. We're clear," I said, holding up my hands in surrender.
She studied me intently for a moment as if weighing my sincerity. Then she took a deep breath, squared her graceful shoulders and beamed at me.
"Alright, I'm going to go make some rounds," she said. "You go do the same thing. Say hi to everyone and socialize."
"Why?"
Her eyes crinkled at the corners cheerfully. "Because you have a bet to lose, of course."
***
So, what do you think?
I always find it interesting to introduce things about their story that we didn't see at all in TMMM. We definitely didn't see Jake's actual efforts when he said he'd open himself up to find the right woman. I know that there's a She's-All-That moment in here but I don't mind. I love that movie. LOL.
Just a reminder that this is going to be a shorter story with about ten chapters or so so don't worry if you're thinking it might be a little slow. Won't be long.
Thanks again for reading! Don't forget to vote and comment!
XOXO,
Ninya
The video for this song isn't the best but I couldn't find a lot of options. I just love this song. There's something very 90s about it and it's pretty perfect for this story.
So here you go...
♪♪♪ Chapter Soundtrack: She Hasn't Always Been This Way by Doc Walker ♪♪♪
She's the prettiest girl I've ever seen
The walking definition of a beauty queen
Every man in town wants to take her away
But she hasn't always been this way
You should've seen that girl ten years ago
With a kool aid mustache and freckled nose
Now, she's breakin' hearts and takin' names
But she hasn't always been this way
She didn't mean anything to me
I brushed her off so easily
She hasn't always been this way
I really can't believe, how much that girl has changed
She's out of my life, she's out of my reach
I'm out of her mind, she's out of my league
But she hasn't always been this way